December 8, 2008

disected pine cone with scales

pine cone

pine tree

November 24, 2008

Quantitative differences in succulents

This is an image of two different types of Haworthia, a type of Succulent. These are water-retaining plants adapted to more arid climes, and store their water in leaves, stems, and/or roots. It is interesting to me that the taller Haworthia in this picture has thicker stems that are visible above ground, whereas the stems of the smaller Haworthia are at soil level. Perhaps more water is stored in the thick stems of the taller Haworthia, possibly making it a hardier plant than the other. The quantitiative trait, then, would be the height of the thick stem above soil level, therefore indicating more retained water and a wider capacity for survival in harsher conditions.

Quantitative Traits and Stems from Trunks of Trees

What?: A tree in the Como neighborhood that had leaves and little black berries still attached. I am not sure on the name of the tree though.

Where?: Como neighborhood. These trees were captured on Talmadge Avenue between 18th St and 19th St

Why?: I feel that these trees greatly capture the idea of quantitative traits. With very few plants to choose from, these trees were very obviously the same type of tree with two different quantitative trait numbers. The quantitative trait I chose to look at was the number of original stems/branches that branch from the trunk/base of the tree. In the first image the tree had three branches stemming from the trunk of the tree, while the second image has five stemming from the trunk of the tree. While searching the neighborhood I found many different numbers down from two all the way up until 6. If I would have looked harder I may have found an even higher number.

Quantitative Trait

Quantitative Trait

What: I'm not sure what type of plant this is but it is a good example of how quantitative traits vary from plant to plant.
Where: I found these flowers outside of the dentist office by my house.
So: These plants have a clear difference in many different quantitative traits. The trait I am trying to show is the number of flowers per plant. The number of flowers on these plants vary due to the environment they are in.

November 23, 2008

Quantitative Traits

What: Tradescantia zebrina
Where: my house
So: These zebrina plants are ones that I took cuttings of in the lab. They were all cut at the same time, and started out at approximately the same height and had the same number of leaves. Now, each of my cuttings has a different number of leaves. This is a quantitative trait that is caused by the environment that the plants are in.

AM Small Differences in Sporobolus heterolepis

What? This is a row of Sporobolus heterolepis (Prairie Dropseed)
Where? In a Northrop Auditorium plaza garden
So? The plants in this row show a variability in maximum height. The plants ranged anywhere from a little less than one meter to perhaps 1.25 meters. All of the plants are exposed to a similar environment, so whatever effect the environment is having on height of tallest culm in one plant is probably an equal effect on the other culms. This variable, small difference in phenotype shows there are differences in the genotype of the individual plants.

November 17, 2008

Fleshy and Dry Fruit--Week 11

Fleshy and Dry Dehiscent Fruit

What: This is a berry from the tomato plant. This berry is an example of a fleshy fruit.
Where: I found this tomato in my fridge.
So: The parts of the fruit are labeled in the picture. The mesocarp and endocarp seem to flow together. This tomato looks and is tasty.
What: This is a dehiscent dry fruit. This is a picture of a green bean which is a legume.
Where: I acquired this green bean at the grocery store.
So: The parts of this fruit are labeled.